Bowl and spindle connections for centrifugal liquid separators



Feb. 7, 1933.v J McC. EDWARDS ET AL 1,896,665

BOWL AND SPINDLE CONNECTIONS FOR CENTRIFUGAL LIQUID SEPARATORS Filed Feb. .19, 1930 Inventors, f/zrmanRadoZphDdZger, James .7? Cash Edwards,

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES MCCOSH EDWARDS, OF CEDAR HEIGHTS, AND HERMAN RUDOLPH DILGER, OE WATERLOO, IOWA, ASSIGNORS TO ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURERS CORPORATION OF AMERICA, OF WATERLOO, IOWA BOWL AND SPINDLE CONNECTIONS FOR CENTRIFUGAL LIQUID SEPARATORS Application flled February 19, 1930. Serial No. 429,732.

Our invention relates to improvements in centrifugal liquid separators, and the object of our improvement is to furnish improved spindle connections to the bowls of such machines, contrived for easeof fittings without clash injuries to parts, and especially designed in shape and coaction as to insure absence of gyrations, while perfecting the balancing status of the bowls.

This object we have successfully achieved in practice by the following means as hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a full-size vertical axial section of the separable base of the bowl of a centrifugal liquid separator and including the inlet-tube for full milk, and showing in coacting combination therewith the upper part only of a rotary spindle with its upper endshaped to support a central socket of said base in a manner to fulfill the above objects of invention.

Fig. 2 is a like view of the coacting spindle top and socket element as dissociated from the bowl base and milk-tube, but in a position as rotated ninety degrees from the showing of said Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in top plan the hemispherical bearing-head of the spindle as fitted between the depending furcations of the socket member, the furcations being shown in horizontal section. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a spindle and socket connection dissociated from a bowl, similar to that of Fig. 1, but in which the spindle top is shaped conically instead of hemispherically. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the socket and spindle parts coengaging.

It is to be understood that we are entitled to various modifications in shape, proportions, or dimensions of the parts shown and for the objects mentioned, and to the use of mechanical equivalents of the devices shown, without departing from our invention or from the protection of the appended claims.

We have not shown other elements of a centrifugal liquid separator bowl or its contained separating devices, nor the mechanism by which the bowl is rotated, as all these are well known in this art.

The bowl base 1 is of a well known type having the axial upwardly directed milk-inlet tube 2 provided midway with a lateral discharge aperture 3. The numeral l denotes a conically topped plug having a central downwardly opening socket-bearing to receive and seat separably the upper end of the rotatable spindle 13 below. The plug may be fastened within and to fit the inner bore of the tube 2, as by a diametral pin 5 with upset ends, the conical head being immediately below the discharge opening and by reason of its conicity facilitating the delivery of milk laterally under the influence of centrifugal force through said opening. The socket hollow of said plug is shaped with a vertical succession of stages by steps of gradually widening diameters, such as the. upper conical cavity 6 separated by an annular shoulder from a wider cylindrical hollow 7 and a still wider cylindrical hollow, the lower opposite depending portions of the plug being the furcations 8 at that place having inclined plane terminations'l), with flat inner walls.

The top portion of the spindle 13 is substantially a counterpart of said socket to mate therewith and arranged in similar stages. While the upper termination 10 of the spindle ishemispherical and seated in a conical hollow 6, the stages 10 and 11 of the spindle fit loosely in the stage 7 and the interspace of the flattened furcations 8, but the part 11 of the spindle is flattened at opposite sides 12 to fit and engage the fork of the bearing, the latter fitting the bore of the tube 2 including the central portion of the base 1.

By this means the bowl is supported upon the spindle to center accurately. The hemispherical shape of the spindle end at 10 bears against the conical wall 6 with a minimum of friction and permits any relative gyration of either bowl or spindle to occur from whatever cause, to be minimized and without shock or excessive wear. The part 11 may be fitted quite closely within the hollow of the furcations 8, so that good support is af forded in the connection to the bowl.

The spindle topof conical shape shown at 14 in Fig. 4: is'the equivalent of the other type of top, but gives a larger bearing contact.

An important feature of our invention is the shaping of the lower part of the plug 4 with the depending furcations 8, and especially the forming of the latter with inclined plane terminations 9. In most bowl and spindle connections of this class, the spindle termination is itself forked to receive between the forks a cross-pin therethrough being a part of the plug member 4. The spindle top is materially weakened by this forking, because in the assembling of the heavy bowl with and upon the spindle, these forks soon become so worn, battered and misshapen, or bent toward each other, as to require fre quent repair or the loss of use of the spindle. This is due to the clashing of the spindle furcations with the socket wall and end as the bowl comes down into contact with a hammer blow.

In our improved spindle top, the upper bearing termination 10 is not forked nor otherwise weakened, hence is not damaged in the assembling. Further, in this assembling the inclined planes at the lower edges 9 of the furcations 8 in engaging the flat tops of the shouldered parts 11 of the spindle ride downwardly and rotatingly slidably thereacross to diminish and absorb the shock of contact, so that neither the furcation ends nor the shoulder top parts 11 are injured in any way, thus conserving the shape and prolonged usefulness of the connection. It is well to bear in mind, that many centrifugal liquid separators are used in places where the operators are hurried or careless, and liable to drop the bowl into place with great shock upon the spindle end to the injury of the coacting parts, and effecting an imperfect connection for proper use of the bowl. The latter is at the factory constructed and balanced under test with the utmost care, but rarely to perfection, hence the above spindle connection by reason of its special construction goes beyond mere refinements, and assures the user of compensated work under all conditions of use, in rendering the bowl properly balanced.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

v 1. The combination with the base of a centrifugal liquid separator bowl having a. downwardly opening axial socket-bearing for the upper end of a rotary spindle, and having as parts of the bearing depending furcations, of a spindle whose upper termination is domical with opposite parts shouldered therebelow to slidably rockingly engage said furcations, said bearing including a central hollow to receive said domical termination.

2. The combination with the base of a centrifugal liquid separator bowl having a downwardly opening axial socket-bearing for the upper end of a rotary spindle, and having as a part of said bearing depending furcations tures.

JAMES MGCOSH EDWARDS. HERMAN RUDOLPH DILGER. 

